Abalos named Marcos campaign manager

Vice presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has named Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos as his campaign manager in the National Capital Region.

The announcement was made at the blessing of the Marcos for Vice President national headquarters at Prudential Building located along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa).

Abalos is ending his three-year term and his wife Carmelita is running for mayor in the May 9 polls.

“Although the campaign has already started, it is only now that we have a national headquarters in Manila. Now 82 days remaining, we need to accomplish everything that we have to accomplish. During my campaign caravan, it seems that my message is accepted—that is to unite the country,” Marcos said.

Marcos won the support of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, and the Eusesbios of Pasig City.

The country’s sugar barons also threw their support behind the vice presidential bid of Marcos. Among them are leaders and members of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (Confed) led by Negros-Panay chapter president Francis Dela Rama, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) led by its president Enrique Roxas, Panayfed (Panay Federation of Sugarcane Planters) led by president Danilo Abelita and Unifed (United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines) led president Manuel Lamata as well as several other leaders of various sugar planters association.

“I would like to be very active in all agriculture. Let us just say that I would work very hard for agriculture in general, and the sugar industry in particular,” Marcos said, adding that he will also work to stop sugar smuggling.

He said that the coming ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) integration that would remove tariff barriers among member countries would pose more threat to our agriculture.

“We can’t continue to do this if we want to have an agriculture sector left intact. Our farmers cannot compete if we don’t support them,” Marcos said.